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Buell Motorcycle Forum » XBoard » Buell XBoard Archives » Archive through May 13, 2003 » 2002 2003 Firebolt XB9R!! » Archive through May 28, 2002 « Previous Next »

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Mikej
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 09:22 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

"That's it, back to the car. Anyone ever hold their breath for 2.5 miles under water"
Here you go. Not trying to be funny, but I am seriously thinking of getting one of these things.
War sucks.
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Anonymous
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 11:31 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Hot off the Buell presses they are doing the drawing today for the Slay the Dragon Sweepstakes and later on during the week they will anounce the winner (sorry about the anony but i dont wanna get in trouble with the top Brass )
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Blackbuellm2
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 11:39 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Court,and all NYC brothers and sisters

Stout heart, we’re still with you out here in the Heartland. Not a day goes by NYC isn’t thought of, and held dear by, good men and women across the land. I thought you had a number of our Navy’s finest in port this weekend? Here’s hoping you have no need of an Ageis (SP?) radar system but doggone handy to have nearby.
On more upbeat note, Court are you going upstate for any of the doings? I’ll be up there w/ J&D Hawley. Here’s hoping you too can get away for a day or three.
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Xgecko
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 12:01 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Todd, it's called SPY-1D and it is indeed a geat radar especially for Microwaving birds. It is the worlds most powerful radar
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Mikej
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 12:04 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Strange, I thought I saw an Aaron post when I checked new messages, now it's gone. Hmmmm.
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Davegess
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 01:11 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

DAM, my firebolt is ready to go. I have all the ducks lined up to pick it up and ride tomorrow and it is going to be 50 degress and raining all dam day.

I am so pissed off!!!!!!
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Lsr_Bbs
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 02:07 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Dave, you made of sugar??? You won't melt. Get a little wet, have some fun...pick it up!!!

Neil Garretson
X0.5
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Rick_A
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 02:33 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I want to hear the 'bolt with a custom exhaust system. That's gotta be a sweet sound...or just record it running with an open header...that'd be cool too
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Two_Buells
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 02:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Dave,
three days after I got my XB, I rode it for two hours in the rain. It cleans up nicethe boys
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Blake
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 02:52 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Dave,

Get real! You have a new XB9R! You can fondle it, and wax it all shiny, and ... then you can go get the bike on Sunday.
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Two_Buells
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 03:01 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

BTW,
last tank of gas. I went 150.1 miles and added 3.1 gallons on gas......48.4 mpgall raising hell miles back and forth to work, no hwy miles......
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Davegess
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 03:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I will get the Firebolt tomorrow, can't do it Sunday by law the dealer is closed and than he is closed Monday for obvious reasons.

I just am very unhappy about hopping on the freeway and spending the first 50 miles of the bikes life crusing along at a stead 60 mph. I was hopeing for a nice 150-200 mile day taking the long way home and really being able to change speeds, gears, bed in the brakes nicely etc.

50 miles at 60 mph in 48 degree rain is not fun even with my electric vest.

I will most likly wimp out and have the dealer deliver it which will not be until Tuesday. Oh well
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Blake
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 03:50 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I wouldn't want to ride my new bike home in the rain either. Patience was never one of my virtues though. :)
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Davegess
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 04:02 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Yeah, and the weather on sunday and Monday is gonna be GREAT so if I can't a delivery Saturday i might just have to ride it.
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Court
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 07:30 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Dave:

Is it just me....or do you look like you are about 5 days from contracting a nasty "Blue Flu"?

Here's the deal....I spill the beans on your office number and we have 85 Badwebbers from 5 continents call in....

"Hello.....Yes, I am David Gess's.....Yes, the aging gray haired man in dept x....and David's not squealing....er, feeling so well"

Promise me that ride or I vow to ruin your Tuedsay!

Court-vious
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Smitty
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2002 - 07:31 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Thanks Jos'e
I do appreciate the reply. I do ocasionally ride in the cold with friends their air cooled bikes have carburation problems and I dont.The Xb looks and runs great.It may be the new addition to my Fazer. Thanks again. Tim
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Archer
Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2002 - 10:37 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I pick my firebolt up Tuesday. Damn the luck, insurance is closed and i have to wait til after Memorial day.I work at the dealership so i have to sit here and stare at it ALL day!!!! oh well, updates to come
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Ferris
Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2002 - 12:23 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Anonymous, thanks for the "Ferris Bueller's" trivia and pic. FBDO is THE GREATEST movie ever made (well in front of the #2 movie of all time, Cheech and Chong's "Up in Smoke"!)

Court, we're thinking of all our NY brothers and sisters, and especially this weekend of those who have fought and died so that we may ride.

i had the honor of riding on the CA BRAG Tour on Tuesday with a man who was shot down in Viet Nam and spent years as a POW. i've always been gentle with him when i've asked about these times, trying hard not to pry, but he has described some of the torture he recieved and it always makes me cry.

i will be riding all weekend (Court, the Porterville Rally is in town! :)), and on Manday i plan on finding a Veteran's cemetary somewhere in my travels and bawling my eyes out.

ride for freedom,
Ferris Bueller
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Road_Thing
Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2002 - 03:26 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Ross:

I "marked" it for you...

r-t
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Davegess
Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2002 - 11:00 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Picked up the Firebolt today, The rain stopped so I had a dry ride home. It was 45 degress so I didn't ride around, just took the direct route with a short detour for some slow speed in town twisites. Total of about 50 miles. Bike now has 60 miles on it. I stay very comfy, not noticing the cold until the last 10 minutes or so thanks to the electric vest.

I get home to read the owners manual and they say to not exceed 3000 rpm or 50 mph for the first 50 miles so I blew that! Got above 4000 a few times and it really wants to wind out quickly.

Can't comment much on the handling as I did very few turns. The riding position is very much like my GB500 but the XB seems to have a lot more weight on the front wheel. In the few turns I hit I kept over steering the darn thing. I'd get it leaned over and have to stand it back up to get around the turn. It really turns in nicely.

It steers fast and easy BUT is very very stable at speed. It stays in a straigt line with hands off and tracks true. Wiggling around in the seat does not upset it.

Bike is smooth, little vibration. Finish is just great.
Also comfortable. I am 5' 8". On the road at 40 to 60 mph the wind is just enough to take some weight off the wrists so it is pretty easy that way. I did about 30 minutes at 25 to 35 mph and that starts to get hard but you and slide up on the seat and use your finger tips on the throttle to take a break. Also if you can sit up and take your hands off the bars coming up to stop signs, the bike tracks so straight that I felt pretty confident doing that. (Only on the very lightly traveled roads I was riding. Not something to do in taffic)

I could see riding it an hour on the freeway to get somewhere or to reach some good riding roads. It would be OK. I don't see any touble riding it from fillup to fillup for an all day ride in the twisties. Don't think I'd want to do one of Court's famous, "meet ya in Topeka" jaunts.

Seems to have good low down power and as you get above 4000 really starts to pull. Will have to wait a bit to really try that out.

So far so good, I think it will be a keeper.

I will try and ride it more tomorrow and report back

Dave
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Peter
Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 02:29 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Dave,
Are you riding it to Bonneville?
PPiA
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Court
Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 07:17 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I KNEW you were going to pick my bike up! :)

>>>Wiggling around in the seat does not upset it.
Signature Erik Buell feature: positive dynamic stability

This is exciting.....keep a log. And, I am not beyond doing a "NYC-LA" jaunt on an XB9R just to shake the 20 hour a day reliablity out of it.

Excellent report.

Court
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Davegess
Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 09:53 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Peter 'friad not. Don't have the time. I am not one for sitting on the interstate for 20 hours just to get there and don't have the two weeks I would need to ride that far.

I will be posting more as I go along.
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Paulinoz
Posted on Monday, May 27, 2002 - 06:28 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Dave congrats on the new bike and keep up the reports it,s the next best thing while still waiting for XB9R to turn up down under, can you say waiting, waiting, waiting they have had my $500.00 deposit for 10 months and still no firm delivery date in Oz from the Importer.
PaulinOz
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Two_Buells
Posted on Monday, May 27, 2002 - 10:40 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

last tank I went 145.9 miles and filled the XB up with 2.9 gallons. thats 50.3 MPGBTW I went about 17 miles with the low fuel light on
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Court
Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 05:55 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

One of you fellas pick up a copy of FTWO software and let's track and log these babies.....my bet is that the XB9R is going to establish a new level of reliability.
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Msetta
Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 03:02 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Had a chance to demo an XB that was broken in, for a couple of hours this weekend. As the owner of an M2, there were a few distinct differences. The bottom end is not as strong as the M2, but it has a far superior rush from 4000rpm on. The huge pre-tensioner(?) does its job well as there is almost no lag and throttle response is superior to my M2. Handling is fantastic, and it truly gives the term "inspires confidence" validation. I took turns faster and with more ease in 2 hours than I have in almost the two years I have been riding the M2, the XB just feels so much more stable and smooth. The riding position is more upright, but not as severe as some rice rockets I have tried, I could definately get used to the change. The seat actually gets hot after some extended use, might be a bonus in cold weather. Mechanically, it rattles and shakes a lot less than my M2, and appears to be put together well. The one thing that I would change immediately is the exhaust, it needs to sound more like my M2 with a Vance and Hines, which I am sure will be one of the first options out there. I really can't get over the handling, the bike is so smooth and stable, you feel like you can lean over forever.

Will I trade up? I need a couple more rides to decide, but it is a possibility. For all of us that can't afford two bikes (or more - like some lucky dogs here nonamesmentionedaaron,threebuells,etc...) I am curious to know how many people are thinking of trading up their ride for an XB and why?

The Setta
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Davegess
Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 04:53 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

MORE FIREBOLT IMPRESSIONS

Well I have 100 miles so far. Absolutely no time on the twisties but I hope to get a half an hour tomorrow at lunch .

So far, very, very smooth. A little buzz in the footpegs at 2800 rpm, a speed you see a lot during this break-in but probably won’t see much in regular use.

The thing is really light. I’ll try and stop by the truck scale and weigh it with a full tank of gas. It seems to be about the same as my GB500 Honda.

It sure is tiny, it is an inch or so shorter overall than my GB. (The GB is a 500cc single done up in café racer style by Honda. It is a tiny, light bike.)

Now that I have ridden it in normal gear not wrapped up like the Michelin Man I can really start to get a feel for it. Thing really turns easily. I do not see were the MO guy thought the steering had to be really heaved on to make it turn. Maybe at higher speeds than I have seen. Very nimble, easy in parking lots. Feels even lighter on the road than it does pushing it around. It is tough to keep the revs down, you can feel the motor wanting to GO.

Most amazing transmission I have ever felt on a Harley. You can actually get it into neutral while standing still with a not motor. You can get it into neutral going down from second. The thing is so light I think it is a Honda, well not quite, but miles and miles better than any Buell before.

Weird noises, first the fuel pump whirrs when you turn it on, than the fan whirrs when you turn it off.

You get attention, other bikers have really taken note of it. I have been leaving it in front of the house to just to show off.

I went to a party with a lot of Buell employees and for most of them it was the first one they had seen “in the wild” that was not owned by the company so I got a fair bit of attention. They all wanted to know what I thought. Quite fun.

Quite a bit of heat from the rear cylinder when stopped for a light. You can feel it on the inside of your upper thigh. Nothing like the heat that poured off the M2 but more than I thought. You don’t notice it when moving, of course it is only 72 degrees out today.

Mirrors work fine. No vibration and you can clearly see overtaking vehicles several car lengths back. You have to do the sport bike shuffle to see straight behind. I just lift my left arm up and I can see.
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Chainsaw
Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 07:51 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Hey Msetta! I'm "trading up" to the XB. I took a demo ride in Laughlin on the XB, and that's all I needed. It is the most amazing handling bike I have ever been on. I rode to Laughlin specifically to ride the V-Rod, and took a spin on the Firebolt just because of all of the buzz I had heard. WOW! The XB rocks! (and $7000 less than the V-ROD). I've got money down on a Battle Blue 2003, with a tentative delivery date of June or July. For the record, I'm keeping the Sportster, at least for now.

I'm gonna have to learn how to do wheelies...
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Court
Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 08:09 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)


Quote:

I have been leaving it in front of the house to just to show off.



When do you anticipate leaving it in front of the house again? :)
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